ETCP News | ETCP certification is an investment that pays long-term benefits become ETCP Certifi ed Riggers. In addition to encouraging them through providing company resources to learn any material with which they need help, we pay for study time and the examination itself. We also pay a bonus to everyone who passes the examination and, at the same time, a bonus to their direct supervisor. “ . . . it helps new customers understand the scope of our operations . . . and gives them confidence that they will ultimately be satisfied with the work we do. Most of our installers haven’t taken a test in years and we found, after initial practice testing, that this is a source of anxiety, particularly with regard to mathematics. In order to help our people overcome this, we provide them with the appropriate rigging books, set up posters featuring ETCP questions of the week, and hold individual and group work sessions and practice examinations. Our guys even come in on the weekends for study sessions. We now have eight people with the ETCP Certifi ed Rigger – Theatre designation at Janson Industries. We celebrate here whenever anyone passes the exam; it’s an achievement for them and an affi rmation that our training and safety programs are working. The testing process also gives my brother and me a level of confi dence that our crews are being managed by foremen who have been independently evaluated as technically competent. Furthermore, training is an ongoing process (both pre-and post-examination) and the testing process helps us to understand where people stand so that we can cater our educational programs accordingly. Our customers have clearly accepted the validity of the ETCP Certifi ed Rigger designation. For instance, theatre designers are increasingly emphasizing the use of ETCP Certifi ed Riggers at construction sites. When we made the decision to work toward certifi cation for all of our technicians, the specifi cations that we evaluated for new theatres and theatre renovations had just started to call for at least one ETCP Certifi ed Rigger at job sites. We now see this requirement in over 90% of the signifi cant jobs on which we bid. From a design standpoint, this makes sense—theatrical consultants and architects routinely name particular products and installation companies in their specifi cations; the ETCP designation gives them the ability to set standards for the people who physically work on these projects. Having the number of ETCP Certifi ed Riggers that we do has also helped Janson Industries from a marketing perspective. We work on a national scale from one offi ce in Canton, OH. With a geographic Connecting the industry with a new style of regional event Two days of regional business, networking and learning FALL 2011 www.plasafocus.com/austin 76 FALL 2011 “ Free attendance with registration Discounts for PLASA Members on unique inclusive booth packages